Immunotherapeutic methods targeted toward stratum corneum chymotryptic enzyme

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses the protease stratum corneum chymotrytic enzyme (SCCE) is specifically over-expressed in ovarian and other malignancies. A number of SCCE peptides can induce immune responses to SCCE, thereby demonstrating the potential of these peptides in monitoring and the development of immunotherapies for ovarian and other malignancies.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 10/831,075, filed Apr. 23, 2004, which claims benefit of priority under 35 USC §120 of continuation-in-part application U.S. Ser. No. 10/372,521, filed Feb. 21, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,291,462, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. No. 09/918,243, filed Jul. 30, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,627,403, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/905,083, filed Jul. 13, 2001, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,306,927, which is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 09/502,600, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,344, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Ser. No. 09/039,211, filed Mar. 14, 1998, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,318, which claims benefit of provisional U.S. Ser. No. 60/041,404, filed Mar. 19, 1997, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

Generally, the present invention relates to the fields of molecular biology and medicine. More specifically, the present invention is in the field of cancer research, especially ovarian cancer diagnosis.

2. Background of the Invention

In order for malignant cells to grow, spread or metastasize, they must have the capacity to invade local host tissue, dissociate or shed from the primary tumor, enter and survive in the bloodstream, implant by invasion into the surface of the target organ and establish an environment conducive for new colony growth (including the induction of angiogenic and growth factors). During this progression, natural tissue barriers such as basement membranes and connective tissue have to be degraded. These barriers include collagen, laminin, fibronectin, proteoglycans and extracellular matrix glycoproteins. Degradation of these natural barriers, both those surrounding the primary tumor and at the sites of metastatic invasion, is believed to be brought about by the action of a matrix of extracellular proteases.

Proteases have been classified into four families: serine proteases, metallo-proteases, aspartic proteases and cysteine proteases. Many proteases have been shown to be involved in human disease processes and these enzymes are targets for the development of inhibitors as new therapeutic agents. Certain individual proteases are induced and overexpressed in a diverse group of cancers, and as such, are potential candidates for markers of early diagnosis and targets for possible therapeutic intervention. A group of examples are shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Proteases Gastric Brain Breast Ovarian Serine uPA uPA NES-1 NES-1 PAI-1 PAI-1 uPA uPA tPA PAI-2 Cysteine: CatSCCE B CatSCCE L CatSCCE B CatSCCE B CatSCCE L CatSCCE L CatSCCE L Metallo- Matrilysin* Matrilysin Stromelysin-3 MMP-2 Collagenase* Stromelysin MMP-8 Stromelysin-1* Gelatinase B MMP-9 Gelatinase A uPA, Urokinase-type plasminogen activator; tPA, Tissue-type plasminogen activator; PAI-I, Plasminogen activator 0 inhibitors; PAI-2, Plasminogen activator inhibitors; NES-1, Normal epithelial cell-specific-1; MMP, Matrix P metallo-protease. *Overexpressed in gastrointestinal ulcers.

There is a good body of evidence supporting the downregulation or inhibition of individual proteases and the reduction in invasive capacity or malignancy. In work by Clark et al., inhibition of in vitro growth of human small cell lung cancer was demonstrated using a general serine protease inhibitor. More recently, Torres-Rosedo et al. (1993) demonstrated an inhibition of hepatoma tumor cell growth using specific antisense inhibitors for the serine protease hepsin. Metastatic potential of melanoma cells has also been shown to be reduced in a mouse model using a synthetic inhibitor (batimastat) of metallo-proteases. Powell et al. (1993) presented evidence to confirm that the expression of extracellular proteases in a non-metastatic prostate cancer cell line enhances their malignant progression. Specifically, enhanced metastasis was demonstrated after introducing and expressing the PUMP-1 metallo-protease gene. There is also a body of data to support the notion that expression of cell surface proteases on relatively non-metastatic cell types increases the invasive potential of such cells.

To date, ovarian cancer remains the number one killer of women with gynecologic malignant hyperplasia. Approximately 75% of women diagnosed with such cancers are already at an advanced stage (III and IV) of the disease at their initial diagnosis. During the past 20 years, neither diagnosis nor five-year survival rates have greatly improved for these patients. This is substantially due to the high percentage of high-stage initial detection of the disease. Therefore, the challenge remains to develop new markers that improve early diagnosis and thereby reduce the percentage of high-stage initial diagnoses. The ability to disengage from one tissue and re-engage the surface of another tissue is what provides for the morbidity and mortality associated with this disease. Therefore, extracellular proteases may be good candidates for markers of malignant ovarian hyperplasia.

Thus, the prior art is deficient in a tumor marker useful as an indicator of early disease, particularly for ovarian cancers. The present invention fulfills this long-standing need and desire in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention allows for the detection of cancer, especially ovarian cancer, by screening for stratum corneum chymotrytic enzyme (SCCE) mRNA in tissue. Stratum corneum chymotrytic enzyme specifically associates with the surface of 80 percent of ovarian and other tumors. Proteases are considered to be an integral part of tumor growth and metastasis, and therefore, markers indicative of their presence or absence are useful for the diagnosis of cancer. Furthermore, the present invention is useful for treatment (i.e., by inhibiting SCCE or expression of SCCE), for targeted therapy, for vaccination, etc.

The present invention provides methods of vaccinating an individual against SCCE or produce immune-activated cells directed toward SCCE by inoculating an individual with an expression vector encoding a SCCE protein or a fragment thereof.

The present invention also provides methods of immunotherapy targeted toward SCCE in an individual, involving the steps of generating dendritic cells in vitro from peripheral blood drawn from an individual, loading these dendritic cells with SCCE protein or a fragment thereof, then transferring these dendritic cells back to the individual in single or multiple doses. SCCE-loaded or SCCE-expressing dendritic cells can also be used to stimulate SCCE-specific T cell responses in vitro, followed by adoptive immunotherapy in which the individual is given autologous SCCE-specific T cells.

There is also provided a method of monitoring the efficacy of vaccinating an individual with SCCE or SCCE peptide. The method comprises measuring immune responses in response to said SCCE or SCCE peptide, wherein induction of immune responses to said SCCE or SCCE peptide indicates that said individual has been vaccinated against SCCE.

In another embodiment of the present invention, there are provided methods of inhibiting expression of SCCE in a cell by introducing into a cell a vector encoding an antisense SCCE RNA or an antibody that binds the SCCE protein.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method of targeted therapy to an individual using a compound that has a targeting moiety specific for SCCE and a therapeutic moiety.

In still yet another embodiment of the present invention, there are provided compositions comprising immunogenic fragments of SCCE protein or an oligonucleotide having a sequence complementary to SEQ ID NO.30. Also embodied is a method of treating a neoplastic state in an individual with an effective dose of the above-described oligonucleotide.

Other and further aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention. These embodiments are given for the purpose of disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows agarose gel comparison of PCR products derived from normal and carcinoma cDNA.

FIG. 2 shows Northern blot analysis of ovarian tumors using SCCE, SCCE, PUMP-1, TADG-14 and β-tubulin probes.

FIG. 3 shows amplification with serine protease redundant primers: histidine sense (S1) with aspartic acid antisense (AS1), using normal cDNA (Lane 1) and tumor cDNA (Lane 2); and histidine sense (S1) with serine antisense (AS2), using normal cDNA (Lane 3) and tumor cDNA (Lane 4).

FIG. 4 shows amplification with cysteine protease redundant primers. Normal (Lane 1), low malignant potential (Lane 2), serious carcinoma (Lane 3), mucinous carcinoma (Lane 4), and clear cell carcinoma (Lane 5).

FIG. 5 shows amplification with metallo-protease redundant primers. Normal (Lane 1), low malignant potential (Lane 2), serious carcinoma (Lane 3), mucinous carcinoma (Lane 4), and clear cell carcinoma (Lane 5).

FIG. 6 shows quantitative PCR analysis of SCCE expression. Cases 3, 4 and 9 are normal ovaries. Cases 19, 21, 14, 15 and 16 are LMP tumors. Cases 43, 23, 36 and 37 are ovarian carcinomas. Expression levels of stratum corneum chymotrytic enzyme relative to β-tubulin are significantly elevated in tumor Cases 19, 14, 15, 16, 43, 23, 36 and 37 compared to that of normal ovaries.

FIG. 7A shows Northern blot analysis of stratum corneum chymotrytic enzyme mRNA from normal ovary and ovarian carcinomas. Lane 1, normal ovary (case 10); Lane 2, serous carcinoma (case 35); Lane 3, mucinous carcinoma (case 48); Lane 4, endometrioid carcinoma (case 51); and Lane 5, clear cell carcinoma (case 54). Two transcripts (1.2 and 2.0 kb) were detected in all of the subtypes of carcinoma (lanes 2-5). FIGS. 7B and 7C show that normal human adult tissues (spleen, thymus, prostate, testis, ovary, small intestine, colon, peripheral blood leukocyte, heart, brain, placenta, lung, liver, skeletal muscle, kidney and pancreas) and normal human fetal tissues (brain, lung, liver and kidney) examined showed no visible SCCE transcripts.

FIG. 8 shows the ratio of SCCE expression to expression of β-tubulin in normal ovary, LMP tumor and ovarian carcinoma. SCCE mRNA expression levels were significantly elevated in LMP tumor (p<0.05) and carcinoma (p<0.001) compared to that in normal ovary. All 10 cases of normal ovaries showed a low level of SCCE mRNA expression.

FIG. 9 shows MDA-MB-435S (Lanes 1 & 3) and HeLa (Lanes 2 & 4) cell lysates were separated by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotted. Lanes 1 & 2 were probed with rabbit pre-immune serum as a negative control. Lanes 3 & 4 were probed with polyclonal rabbit antibodies generated to peptides derived from SCCE protein sequence.

FIG. 10A shows normal surface ovarian epithelium. Little SCCE expression was observed (normal ovary, X100). FIG. 10B is a negative control section for FIG. 10A. No nonspecific staining was observed (Normal ovary, X100). FIG. 10C shows positive SCCE staining localized in the cytoplasm and the cell membrane of ovarian cancer cells (case 947, clear cell adenocarcinoma, X100). FIG. 10D is a negative control section for FIG. 10C. No nonspecific staining was observed (case 947, clear cell adenocarcinoma, X100). FIG. 10E is positive stratum corneum chymotrytic enzyme staining localized in the cytoplasm and the cell membrane of ovarian cancer cells. Mucin in the glands also showed positive stratum corneum chymotrytic enzyme staining (case 947, clear cell adenocarcinoma, X100). FIG. 10F is a negative control section for FIG. 10E. No nonspecific staining was observed (case 947, clear cell adenocarcinoma, X100).

FIG. 11A shows Northern blot analysis of hepsin expression in normal ovary and ovarian carcinomas. Lane 1, normal ovary (case 10); lane 2, serous carcinoma (case 35); lane 3, mucinous carcinoma (case 48); lane 4, endometrioid carcinoma (case 51); and lane 5, clear cell carcinoma (case 54). In cases 35, 51 and 54, more than a 10-fold increase in the hepsin 1.8 kb transcript abundance was observed. Northern blot analysis of hepsin in normal human fetal (FIG. 11B) and adult tissues (FIG. 11C). Significant overexpression of the hepsin transcript is noted in both fetal liver and fetal kidney. Notably, hepsin overexpression is not observed in normal adult tissue. Slight expression above the background level is observed in the adult prostate.

FIG. 12A shows hepsin expression in normal (N), mucinous (M) and serous (S) low malignant potential (LMP) tumors and carcinomas (CA). FIG. 12B shows a bar graph of expression of hepsin in 10 normal ovaries and 44 ovarian carcinoma samples.

FIG. 13 shows a comparison by quantitative PCR of normal and ovarian carcinoma expression of mRNA for protease M.

FIG. 14 shows the TADG-12 catalytic domain (SEQ ID NO: 141) including an insert near the His 5′-end (SEQ ID NO: 142).

FIG. 15A shows northern blot analysis comparing TADG-14 expression in normal and ovarian carcinoma tissues. FIG. 15B shows preliminary quantitative PCR amplification of normal and carcinoma cDNAs using specific primers for TADG-14.

FIG. 16A shows northern blot analysis of the PUMP-1 gene in normal ovary and ovarian carcinomas. FIG. 16B shows northern blot analysis of the PUMP-1 gene in human fetal tissue. FIG. 16C shows northern blot analysis of the PUMP-1 gene in adult tissues.

FIG. 17A shows a comparison of PUMP-1 expression in normal and carcinoma tissues using quantitative PCR with an internal β-tubulin control. FIG. 17B shows the ratio of mRNA expression of PUMP-1 compared to the internal control β-tubulin in 10 normal and 44 ovarian carcinomas.

FIG. 18 shows a comparison of Cathepsin L expression in normal and carcinoma tissues using quantitative PCR with an internal β-tubulin control.

FIG. 19 is a summary of PCR amplified products for the hepsin, SCCE, protease M, PUMP-1 and Cathepsin L genes.

FIG. 20 shows CD8⁺ CTL recognition of SCCE 5-13 peptide in a 5 hr ⁵¹Cr release assay. Targets were LCL loaded with SCCE 5-13 () and control LCL (◯).

FIG. 21 shows CD8⁺ CTL recognition of SCCE 123-131 peptide in a 5 hr ⁵¹Cr release assay. Targets were LCL loaded with SCCE 123-131 () and control LCL (◯).

FIG. 22 shows peptide-specific CD8⁺ CTL recognition of endogenously processed and presented hepsin tumor antigen. CTL were derived by stimulation with dendritic cells pulsed with SCCE peptide 123-131. Cytotoxicity was tested in a standard 5 hours ⁵¹Cr-release assay against autologous macrophages infected with Ad-GFP/SCCE (♦), macrophages infected with Ad-GFP-hepsin (▴), macrophages pulsed with SCCE 123-131 peptide (▪), or control untreated macrophages ().

FIG. 23 shows CD8⁺ CTL specific for SCCE 123-131 lyse ovarian tumor cells. Target cells are autologous LCL loaded with 5 ug/ml peptide (♦), control LCL (open diamond), CaOV-3 ovarian tumor cells (▴), CaOV-3 tumor cells plus 1/25 dilution of BB7.2 ascites (▪), CaOV-3 tumor cells plus 50 ug/ml W6/32 (), and K562 cells (◯).

FIG. 24 shows SCCE 110-139-specific CD4⁺ T cells from donor 1 (DR1, DR7 haplotype) lysed autologous peptide-pulsed LCL. Target cells were autologous LCL pulsed over night with 50 mg/ml peptide (▪) or control LCL (♦).

FIG. 25 shows SCCE 110-139-specific CD4⁺ T cells from donor 2 (DR3, DR6 haplotype) lysed autologous peptide-loaded dendritic cells. Target cells were immature dendritic cells loaded with 50 mg/ml peptide and then matured for 48 hours (▪) or control mature dendritic cells (♦).

FIG. 26 shows SCCE 110-139-specific CD8⁺ CTL responses. LCL cells were pulsed over night with 50 mg/ml SCCE 110-139. Target cells were peptide-pulsed autologous LCL (▴), peptide-pulsed HLA A2.1-matched allogeneic LCL (▪), or peptide-pulsed HLA Class I-mismatched allogeneic LCL (). Control unpulsed LCL cells were not recognized.

FIG. 27 shows CD8⁺ T cells specific for SCCE peptide 123-131 recognized and lysed dendritic cells loaded with SCCE peptide 110-139. Immature dendritic cells were loaded with 50 mg/ml peptide and then matured for 48 hours before use as target cells. Target cells were peptide 110-139-loaded dendritic cells (▪) or control dendritic cells (♦).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This invention identifies stratum corneum chymotrytic enzyme (SCCE) as a marker for ovarian tumor cells. In various combinations with other proteases, stratum corneum chymotrytic enzyme expression is characteristic of individual tumor types. Such information can provide the basis for diagnostic tests (assays or immunohistochemistry) and prognostic evaluation (depending on the display pattern).

Long-term treatment of tumor growth, invasion and metastasis has not succeeded with existing chemotherapeutic agents. Most tumors become resistant to drugs after multiple cycles of chemotherapy. The present invention identifies SCCE as a new therapeutic intervention target utilizing either antibodies directed at the protease, antisense vehicles for downregulation or protease inhibitors both from established inhibition data and/or for the design of new drugs.

The present invention provides a method of vaccinating an individual against SCCE, comprising the steps of inoculating an individual with an expression vector encoding a SCCE peptide or with peptide-loaded dendritic cells. Expression of the SCCE peptide elicits an immune response in the individual, thereby vaccinating the individual against SCCE. Generally, this method is applicable when the individual has cancer or is at risk of getting a cancer such as ovarian cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer. Sequences of preferred SCCE peptides are shown in SEQ ID NOS. 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 80, 86, 99 and 137.

The present invention also provides a method of producing immune-activated cells directed toward SCCE, comprising the steps of exposing immune cells to SCCE protein or fragment thereof. Typically, exposure to SCCE protein or fragment thereof activates the immune cells, thereby producing immune-activated cells directed toward SCCE. Generally, the immune-activated cells are B-cells, T-cells and/or dendritic cells. Preferably, the SCCE fragment is a 9-residue fragment up to a 30-residue fragment, and more preferably, the fragment is SEQ ID NOS. 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 80, 86, 99 and 137. Oftentimes, the dendritic cells are isolated from an individual prior to exposure and then reintroduced into the individual subsequent to the exposure. Typically, the individual has cancer or is at risk of getting a cancer such as ovarian cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer.

The present invention also provides methods of immunotherapy targeted toward SCCE in an individual. In one embodiment, the method involves generating dendritic cells in vitro from peripheral blood drawn from the individual, loading these dendritic cells with SCCE protein or a fragment thereof by lipofection or other means, then transferring these dendritic cells back to the individual in single or multiple doses. SCCE may also be expressed in these dendritic cells following transduction with a recombinant DNA vector. Alternatively, SCCE-loaded or SCCE-expressing dendritic cells can be used to stimulate hepsin-specific T cell responses in vitro, followed by adoptive immunotherapy in which the individual is given autologous SCCE-specific T cells. Typically, the individual has cancer or is at risk of getting a cancer such as ovarian cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer and colon cancer. In general, a full length or a fragment of SCCE protein is expressed in the isolated dendritic cells. Preferably, the fragment is a 9-residue fragment up to a 30-residue fragment, and more preferably, the fragment is SEQ ID NOS. 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 80, 86, 99 and 137.

There is also provided a method of monitoring the efficacy of vaccinating an individual with SCCE or SCCE peptide such as those shown in SEQ ID NOS. 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 80, 86, 99 and 137. The method comprises isolating T cells or CD8⁺ T cells from the vaccinated individual and measuring immune responses specific to said SCCE or SCCE peptide. An increased level of immune responses compared to those exhibited by cells from normal individual indicates that said individual has been vaccinated by said SCCE or SCCE peptide. In general, the individual is vaccinated to SCCE if there is an increased level of SCCE-specific T cells proliferation, an increased frequency of SCCE-specific T cells or an increased frequency of SCCE-specific cytokine-secreting T cells. Standard assays well-known in the art such as tetramer analysis and ELISPOT assay can be used to determine the frequency of SCCE-specific T cells and the frequency of SCCE-specific cytokine-secreting T cells respectively.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of inhibiting expression of SCCE in a cell, comprising the step of introducing into a cell a vector comprises a sequence complementary to SEQ ID NO. 30, wherein expression of the vector produces SCCE antisense RNA in the cell. The SCCE antisense RNA hybridizes to endogenous SCCE mRNA, thereby inhibiting expression of SCCE in the cell.

Expression of SCCE can also be inhibited by antibody. An antibody specific for a SCCE protein or a fragment thereof is introduced into a cell, and binding of the antibody to SCCE would inhibit the SCCE protein. Preferably, the SCCE fragment is a 9-residue fragment up to a 30-residue fragment, and more preferably, the fragment is SEQ ID NOS. 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 80, 86, 99 and 137.

The present invention is also directed toward a method of targeted therapy to an individual, comprising the step of administering a compound to an individual, wherein the compound has a targeting moiety specific for SCCE and a therapeutic moiety. Preferably, the targeting moiety is an antibody specific for SCCE, a ligand or ligand binding domain that binds SCCE. Likewise, the therapeutic moiety is preferably a radioisotope, a toxin, a chemotherapeutic agent, an immune stimulant or cytotoxic agent. Generally, the individual suffers from a disease such as ovarian cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer or another cancer in which hepsin is overexpressed.

The present invention is further directed toward an immunogenic composition, comprising an appropriate adjuvant and an immunogenic full length SCCE protein or a fragment thereof. Preferably, the fragment is a 9-residue fragment up to a 30-residue fragment, and more preferably, the fragment is SEQ ID NOS. 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 80, 86, 99 and 137.

The present invention also provides an oligonucleotide having a sequence complementary to SEQ ID NO. 30 or a fragment thereof. The present invention further provides a composition comprising the above-described oligonucleotide and a physiologically acceptable carrier, and a method of treating a neoplastic state in an individual, comprising the step of administering to the individual an effective dose of the above-described oligonucleotide. Typically, the neoplastic state may be ovarian cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer or another cancer in which SCCE is overexpressed.

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that various substitutions and modifications may be made to the invention disclosed herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

In accordance with the present invention there may be employed conventional molecular biology, microbiology, and recombinant DNA techniques within the skill of the art. Such techniques are explained fully in the literature. See, e.g., Maniatis, Fritsch & Sambrook, “Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual (1982); “DNA Cloning: A Practical Approach,” Volumes I and II (D. N. Glover ed. 1985); “Oligonucleotide Synthesis” (M. J. Gait ed. 1984); “Nucleic Acid Hybridization” (B. D. Hames & S. J. Higgins eds. 1985); “Transcription and Translation” (B. D. Hames & S. J. Higgins eds. 1984); “Animal Cell Culture” (R. I. Freshney, ed. 1986); “Immobilized Cells And Enzymes” (IRL Press, 1986); B. Perbal, “A Practical Guide To Molecular Cloning” (1984). Therefore, if appearing herein, the following terms shall have the definitions set out below.

As used herein, the term “cDNA” shall refer to the DNA copy of the mRNA transcript of a gene.

As used herein, the term “PCR” refers to the polymerase chain reaction that is the subject of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,683,195 and 4,683,202 to Mullis, as well as other improvements now known in the art.

The present invention comprises a vector comprising a DNA sequence which encodes a SCCE protein, wherein said vector is capable of replication in a host, and comprises, in operable linkage: a) an origin of replication; b) a promoter; and c) a DNA sequence coding for said SCCE protein. Preferably, the vector of the present invention contains a portion of the DNA sequence shown in SEQ ID NO. 30. Vectors may be used to amplify and/or express nucleic acid encoding a SCCE protein, a fragment of SCCE protein, or an antisense SCCE mRNA.

An expression vector is a replicable construct in which a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide is operably linked to suitable control sequences capable of effecting expression of the polypeptide in a cell. The need for such control sequences will vary depending upon the cell selected and the transformation method chosen. Generally, control sequences include a transcriptional promoter and/or enhancer, suitable mRNA ribosomal binding sites and sequences which control the termination of transcription and translation. Methods which are well known to those skilled in the art can be used to construct expression vectors containing appropriate transcriptional and translational control signals. See, for example, techniques described in Sambrook et al., 1989, Molecular Cloning: A Laboratory Manual (2nd Ed.), Cold Spring Harbor Press, N.Y. A gene and its transcription control sequences are defined as being “operably linked” if the transcription control sequences effectively control transcription of the gene. Vectors of the invention include, but are not limited to, plasmid vectors and viral vectors. Preferred viral vectors of the invention are those derived from retroviruses, adenovirus, adeno-associated virus, SV40 virus, or herpes viruses.

As used herein, the term “host” is meant to include not only prokaryotes but also eukaryotes such as yeast, plant and animal cells. A recombinant DNA molecule or gene which encodes a human SCCE protein of the present invention can be used to transform a host using any of the techniques commonly known to those of ordinary skill in the art. Especially preferred is the use of a vector containing coding sequences for the gene which encodes a human SCCE protein of the present invention for purposes of prokaryote transformation. Prokaryotic hosts may include E. coli, S. tymphimurium, Serratia marcescens and Bacillus subtilis. Eukaryotic hosts include yeasts such as Pichia pastoris, mammalian cells and insect cells.

The term “oligonucleotide”, as used herein, is defined as a molecule comprised of two or more ribonucleotides, preferably more than three. Its exact size will depend upon many factors, which, in turn, depend upon the ultimate function and use of the oligonucleotide. The term “primer”, as used herein, refers to an oligonucleotide, whether occurring naturally (as in a purified restriction digest) or produced synthetically, and which is capable of initiating synthesis of a strand complementary to a nucleic acid when placed under appropriate conditions, i.e., in the presence of nucleotides and an inducing agent, such as a DNA polymerase, and at a suitable temperature and pH. The primer may be either single-stranded or double-stranded and must be sufficiently long to prime the synthesis of the desired extension product in the presence of the inducing agent. The exact length of the primer will depend upon many factors, including temperature, sequence and/or homology of primer and the method used. For example, in diagnostic applications, the oligonucleotide primer typically contains 15-25 or more nucleotides, depending upon the complexity of the target sequence, although it may contain fewer nucleotides.

The primers herein are selected to be “substantially” complementary to particular target DNA sequences. This means that the primers must be sufficiently complementary to hybridize with their respective strands. Therefore, the primer sequence need not reflect the exact sequence of the template. For example, a non-complementary nucleotide fragment (i.e., containing a restriction site) may be attached to the 5′ end of the primer, with the remainder of the primer sequence being complementary to the strand. Alternatively, non-complementary bases or longer sequences can be interspersed into the primer, provided that the primer sequence has sufficient complementary with the sequence to hybridize therewith and form the template for synthesis of the extension product.

As used herein, “substantially pure DNA” means DNA that is not part of a milieu in which the DNA naturally occurs, by virtue of separation (partial or total purification) of some or all of the molecules of that milieu, or by virtue of alteration of sequences that flank the claimed DNA. The term therefore includes, for example, a recombinant DNA which is incorporated into a vector, into an autonomously replicating plasmid or virus, or into the genomic DNA of a prokaryote or eukaryote; or which exists as a separate molecule (e.g., a cDNA or a genomic or cDNA fragment produced by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or restriction endonuclease digestion) independent of other sequences. It also includes a recombinant DNA which is part of a hybrid gene encoding additional polypeptide sequence, e.g., a fusion protein. Also included is a recombinant DNA which includes a portion of the nucleotides listed in SEQ ID NO. 30 and which encodes an alternative splice variant of SCCE.

The DNA may have at least about 70% sequence identity to the coding sequence of the nucleotides listed in SEQ ID NO. 30, preferably at least 75% (e.g., at least 80%); and most preferably at least 90%. The identity between two sequences is a direct function of the number of matching or identical positions. When a position in both of the two sequences is occupied by the same monomeric subunit, e.g., if a given position is occupied by an adenine in each of two DNA molecules, then they are identical at that position. For example, if 7 positions in a sequence 10 nucleotides in length are identical to the corresponding positions in a second 10-nucleotide sequence, then the two sequences have 70% sequence identity. The length of comparison sequences will generally be at least 50 nucleotides, preferably at least 60 nucleotides, more preferably at least 75 nucleotides, and most preferably 100 nucleotides. Sequence identity is typically measured using sequence analysis software (e.g., Sequence Analysis Software Package of the Genetics Computer Group (GCG), University of Wisconsin Biotechnology Center, 1710 University Avenue, Madison, Wis. 53705).

Further included in this invention are SCCE proteins which are encoded, at least in part, by portions of SEQ ID NO. 30, e.g., products of alternative mRNA splicing or alternative protein processing events, or in which a section of SCCE sequence has been deleted. The fragment, or the intact SCCE polypeptide, may be covalently linked to another polypeptide, e.g., one which acts as a label, a ligand or a means to increase antigenicity.

A substantially pure SCCE protein may be obtained, for example, by extraction from a natural source; by expression of a recombinant nucleic acid encoding a SCCE polypeptide; or by chemically synthesizing the protein. Purity can be measured by any appropriate method, e.g., column chromatography, such as immunoaffinity chromatography using an antibody specific for SCCE, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, or HPLC analysis. A protein is substantially free of naturally associated components when it is separated from at least some of those contaminants which accompany it in its natural state. Thus, a protein which is chemically synthesized or produced in a cellular system different from the cell from which it naturally originates will be, by definition, substantially free from its naturally associated components. Accordingly, substantially pure proteins include eukaryotic proteins synthesized in E. coli, other prokaryotes, or any other organism in which they do not naturally occur.

In addition to substantially full-length proteins, the invention also includes fragments (e.g., antigenic fragments) of the SCCE protein. As used herein, “fragment,” as applied to a polypeptide, will ordinarily be at least 10 residues, more typically at least 20 residues, and preferably at least 30 (e.g., 50) residues in length, but less than the entire, intact sequence. Fragments of the SCCE protein can be generated by methods known to those skilled in the art, e.g., by enzymatic digestion of naturally occurring or recombinant SCCE protein, by recombinant DNA techniques using an expression vector that encodes a defined fragment of SCCE, or by chemical synthesis. The ability of a candidate fragment to exhibit a characteristic of SCCE (e.g., binding to an antibody specific for SCCE) can be assessed by methods known in the art.

Purified SCCE or antigenic fragments of SCCE can be used to generate new antibodies or to test existing antibodies (e.g., as positive controls in a diagnostic assay) by employing standard protocols known to those skilled in the art. Included in this invention is polyclonal antisera generated by using SCCE or a fragment of SCCE as the immunogen in, e.g., rabbits. Standard protocols for monoclonal and polyclonal antibody production known to those skilled in this art are employed. The monoclonal antibodies generated by this procedure can be screened for the ability to identify recombinant SCCE cDNA clones, and to distinguish them from other cDNA clones.

The invention encompasses not only an intact anti-SCCE monoclonal antibody, but also an immunologically-active antibody fragment, e.g., a Fab or (Fab)₂ fragment; an engineered single chain Fv molecule; or a chimeric molecule, e.g., an antibody which contains the binding specificity of one antibody, e.g., of murine origin, and the remaining portions of another antibody, e.g., of human origin.

In one embodiment, the antibody, or a fragment thereof, may be linked to a toxin or to a detectable label, e.g., a radioactive label, non-radioactive isotopic label, fluorescent label, chemiluminescent label, paramagnetic label, enzyme label, or colorimetric label well-known in the art. Examples of suitable toxins include diphtheria toxin, Pseudomonas exotoxin A, ricin, and cholera toxin. Examples of suitable enzyme labels include alkaline phosphatase, beta-galactosidase, ribonuclease, urease, catalase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, etc. Examples of suitable radioisotopic labels include ³H, ¹²⁵I, ¹³¹I, ³²P, ³⁵S, ¹⁴C, etc.

Paramagnetic isotopes for purposes of in vivo diagnosis can also be used according to the methods of this invention. There are numerous examples of elements that are useful in magnetic resonance imaging. For discussions on in vivo nuclear magnetic resonance imaging, see, for example, Schaefer et al., (1989) JACC 14:472-480; Shreve et al., (1986) Magn. Reson. Med. 3:336-340; Wolf, G. L., (1984) Physiol. Chem. Phys. Med. NMR 16:93-95; Wesbey et al., (1984) Physiol. Chem. Phys. Med. NMR 16:145-155; Runge et al., (1984) Invest. Radiol. 19:408-415. Examples of suitable fluorescent labels include a fluorescein label, an isothiocyalate label, a rhodamine label, a phycoerythrin label, a phycocyanin label, an allophycocyanin label, an ophthaldehyde label, a fluorescamine label, etc. Examples of chemiluminescent labels include a luminal label, an isoluminal label, an aromatic acridinium ester label, an imidazole label, an acridinium salt label, an oxalate ester label, a luciferin label, a luciferase label, an aequorin label, etc.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will know of other suitable labels which may be employed in accordance with the present invention. The binding of these labels to antibodies or fragments thereof can be accomplished using standard techniques commonly known and used by those of ordinary skill in the art. Typical techniques are described by Kennedy et al., (1976) Clin. Chim. Acta 70, 1-31; and Schurs et al., (1977) Clin. Chim. Acta 81, 1-40. Coupling techniques mentioned in the latter are the glutaraldehyde method, the periodate method, the dimaleimide method, the m-maleimidobenzyl-N-hydroxy-succinimide ester method. All of these methods are incorporated by reference herein.

The following examples are given for the purpose of illustrating various embodiments of the invention and are not meant to limit the present invention in any fashion. One skilled in the art will appreciate readily that the present invention is well adapted to carry out the objects and obtain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as those objects, ends and advantages inherent herein. Changes therein and other uses which are encompassed within the spirit of the invention as defined by the scope of the claims will occur to those skilled in the art.

EXAMPLE 1 Amplification of Serine Proteases Using Redundant and Specific Primers

Only cDNA preparations deemed free of genomic DNA were used for gene expression analysis. Redundant primers were prepared for serine proteases, metallo-proteases and cysteine protease. The primers were synthesized to consensus sequences of amino acid surrounding the catalytic triad for serine proteases, viz. histidine . . . aspartate . . . and serine. The sequences of both sense (histidine & aspartate) and antisense (aspartate and serine) redundant primers are shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2 SEQ ID PCR Primers 5′→3′ NO: Redundant Primers: Serine Protease (histidine) = S1 tgggtigtiacigcigcica(ct)tg 1 Serine Protease (aspartic acid) = AS1 a(ag)ia(ag)igciatitcitticc 2 Serine Protease (serine) = AS11 a(ag)iggiccicci(cg)(ta)(ag)tcicc 3 Cysteine Protease - sense ca(ag)ggica(ag)tg(ct)ggi(ta)(cg)itg(ct)tgg 4 Cysteine Protease - antisense taiccicc(ag)tt(ag)caicc(ct)tc 5 Metallo Protease - sense cci(ac)gitg(tc)ggi(ga)(ta)icciga 6 Metallo Protease - antisense tt(ag)tgicciai(ct)tc(ag)tg7 Specific Primers: Serine Protease (SCCE) = sense tgtcccgatggcgagtgttt 8 Serine Protease (SCCE) = antisense cctgttggccatagtactgc 9 Serine Protease (SCCE) = sense agatgaatgagtacaccgtg 10 Serine Protease (SCCE) = antisense ccagtaagtccttgtaaacc 11 Serine Protease (Comp B) = sense aagggacacgagagctgtat 12 Serine Protease (Comp B) = antisense aagtggtagttggaggaagc 13 Serine Protease (Protease M)= sense ctgtgatccaccctgactat 20 Serine Protease (Protease M) = antisense caggtggatgtatgcacact 21 Serine Protease (TADG12) = sense (Ser10-s) gcgcactgtgtttatgagat 22 Serine Protease (TADG12) = antisense (Ser10-as) ctctttggcttgtacttgct 23 Serine Protease (TADG13) = sense tgagggacatcattatgcac 24 Serine Protease (TADG13) = antisense caagttttccccataattgg 25 Serine Protease (TADG14) = sense acagtacgcctgggagacca 26 Serine Protease (TADG14) = antisense ctgagacggtgcaattctgg 27 Cysteine Protease (Cath-L) = sense attggagagagaaaggctac 14 Cysteine Protease (Cath-L) = antisense cttgggattgtacttacagg 15 Metallo Protease (PUMP1) = sense cttccaaagtggtcacctac 16 Metallo Protease (PUMP1) = antisense ctagactgctaccatccgtc 17

EXAMPLE 2 Carcinoma Tissue

Several protease entities were identified and subcloned from PCR amplification of cDNA derived from serous cystadenocarcinomas. Therefore, the proteases described herein are reflective of surface activities for this type of carcinoma, the most common form of ovarian cancer. It was also shown that PCR amplification bands unique to the mucinous tumor type and the clear cell type have similar base pair size. About 20-25% of ovarian cancers are classified as either mucinous, clear cell, or endometrioid.

EXAMPLE 3 Ligation, Transformation and Sequencing

To determine the identity of the PCR products, all the appropriate bands were ligated into Promega T-vector plasmid and the ligation product was used to transform JM109 cells (Promega) grown on selective media. After selection and culturing of individual colonies, plasmid DNA was isolated by means of the WIZARD MINIPREP™ DNA purification system (Promega). Inserts were sequenced using a Prism Ready Reaction Dydeoxy Terminators cycle sequencing kit (Applied Biosystems). Residual dye terminators were removed from the completed sequencing reaction using a CENTRISEP SPIN™ column (Princeton Separation), and samples were loaded into an Applied Biosystems Model 373A DNA sequencing system. The results of subcloning and sequencing for the serine protease primers are summarized in Table 3.

TABLE 3 Serine Protease Candidates Subclone Primer Set Gene Candidate 1 His-Ser SCCE 2 His-Ser SCCE 3 His-Ser Compliment B 4 His-Asp Cofactor 1 5 His-Asp TADG-12* 6 His-Ser TADG-13* 7 His-Ser TADG-14* 8 His-Ser Protease M 9 His-Ser TADG-15* *indicates novel proteases

EXAMPLE 4 Cloning and Characterization

Cloning and characterization of new gene candidates was undertaken to expand the panel representative of extracellular proteases specific for ovarian carcinoma subtypes. Sequencing of the PCR products derived from tumor cDNA confirms the potential candidacy of these genes. The three novel genes all have conserved residues within the catalytic triad sequence consistent with their membership in the serine protease family.

PCR products amplified from normal and carcinoma cDNAs were compared using sense-histidine and antisense-aspartate as well as sense-histidine and antisense-serine. The anticipated PCR products of approximately 200 bp and 500 bp for those pairs of primers were observed (aspartate is approximately 50-70 amino acids downstream from histidine, and serine is about 100-150 amino acids toward the carboxy end from histidine).

FIG. 1 shows a comparison of PCR products derived from normal and carcinoma cDNA as shown by staining in an agarose gel. Two distinct bands in Lane 2 were present in the primer pair sense-His/antisense ASP (AS1) and multiple bands of about 500 bp are noted in the carcinoma lane for the sense-His/antisense-Ser (AS2) primer pairs in Lane 4.

EXAMPLE 5 Quantitative PCR

The mRNA overexpression of SCCE was detected and determined using quantitative PCR. Quantitative PCR was performed generally according to the method of Noonan et al. (1990). The following oligonucleotide primers were used: SCCE: forward 5′-A GATGAATGAGTACACCGTG-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 10), and reverse 5′-CCAGTAAGTCCTTG TAAACC-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 11); and β-tubulin: forward 5′-TGCATTGACAACGAGGC-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 18), and reverse 5′-CTGTCTTGACATTGTTG-3′ (SEQ ID NO: 19). β-tubulin was utilized as an internal control.

The predicted sizes of the amplified genes were 339 bp for SCCE and 454 bp for β-tubulin. The primer sequences used in this study were designed according to the cDNA sequences described by Hansson et al. (1994) for SCCE, and Hall et al. (1983) for β-tubulin. The PCR reaction mixture consisted of cDNA derived from 50 ng of mRNA converted by conventional techniques, 5 pmol of sense and antisense primers for both the SCCE gene and the β-tubulin gene, 200 μmol of dNTPs, 5 μCi of [α-³²P]dCTP and 0.25 units of Taq DNA polymerase with reaction buffer (Promega) in a final volume of 25 μl. The target sequences were amplified in parallel with the β-tubulin gene. Thirty cycles of PCR were carried out in a Thermal Cycler (Perkin-Elmer Cetus). Each cycle of PCR included 30 sec of denaturation at 95° C., 30 sec of annealing at 63° C. and 30 sec of extension at 72° C. It was previously established and confirmed for SCCE that co-amplification with β-tubulin under these conditions for 30 cycles remain linear for both products.

The PCR products were separated on 2% agarose gels and the radioactivity of each PCR product was determined by using a Phospho Imager (Molecular Dynamics). In the present study, expression of SCCE was calculated as the ratio (SCCE/β-tubulin) as measured by phosphoimager. The overexpression cut-off value was defined as the mean value for normal ovary +2SD. The student's t test was used for the comparison of the mean values of normal ovary and tumors.

Experiments comparing PCR amplification in normal ovary and ovarian carcinoma suggested overexpression and/or alteration in mRNA transcript in tumor tissues. Northern blot analysis of TADG-14 confirms a transcript size of 1.4 kb and data indicate overexpression in ovarian carcinoma (FIG. 2). Isolation and purification using both PCR and a specific 250 bp PCR product to screen positive plaques yielded a 1.2 kb clone of TADG-14. Other proteases were amplified by the same method using the appropriate primers from Table 2.

EXAMPLE 6 Tissue Bank

A tumor tissue bank of fresh frozen tissue of ovarian carcinomas as shown in Table 4 was used for evaluation. Approximately 100 normal ovaries removed for medical reasons other than malignancy were obtained from surgery and were available as controls.

TABLE 4 Total Stage I/11 Stage III/IV No Stage Serous Malignant 166 15 140 8 LMP 16 9 7 0 Benign 12 0 0 12 Mucinous Malignant 26 6 14 6 LMP 28 25 3 0 Benign 3 0 0 3 Endometrioid Malignant 38 17 21 0 LMP 2 2 0 0 Benign 0 0 0 0 Other* Malignant 61 23 29 9 LMP 0 0 0 0 Benign 5 0 0 5 *Other category includes the following tumor types: Brenner's tumor, thecoma, teratoma, fibrothecoma, fibroma, granulosa cell, clear cell, germ cell, mixed mullerian, stromal, undifferentiated, and dysgerminoma.

From the tumor bank, approximately 100 carcinomas were evaluated encompassing most histological sub-types of ovarian carcinoma, including borderline or low-malignant potential tumors and overt carcinomas. The approach included using mRNA prepared from fresh frozen tissue (both normal and malignant) to compare expression of genes in normal, low malignant potential tumors and overt carcinomas. The cDNA prepared from polyA+ mRNA was deemed to be genomic DNA free by checking all preparations with primers that encompassed a known intron-exon splice site using both β-tubulin and p53 primers.

EXAMPLE 7 Northern Blots Analysis

Significant information can be obtained by examining the expression of these candidate genes by Northern blot. Analysis of normal adult multi-tissue blots offers the opportunity to identify normal tissues which may express the protease. Ultimately, if strategies for inhibition of proteases for therapeutic intervention are to be developed, it is essential to appreciate the expression of these genes in normal tissue if and when it occurs.

Northern panels for examining expression of genes in a multi-tissue normal adult as well as fetal tissue are commercially available (CLONTECH). Such evaluation tools are not only important to confirm the overexpression of individual transcripts in tumor versus normal tissues, but also provides the opportunity to confirm transcript size, and to determine if alternate splicing or other transcript alteration may occur in ovarian carcinoma.

Northern blot analysis was performed as follows: 10 μg of mRNA was loaded onto a 1% formaldehyde-agarose gel, electrophoresed and blotted onto a HyBond-N⁺™ nylon membrane (Amersham). ³²P-labeled cDNA probes were made using Prime-a-Gene Labeling System™ (Promega). The PCR products amplified by specific primers were used as probes. Blots were prehybridized for 30 min and then hybridized for 60 min at 68° C. with ³²P-labeled cDNA probe in ExpressHyb™ Hybridization Solution (CLONTECH). Control hybridization to determine relative gel loading was accomplished using the β-tubulin probe.

Normal human tissues including spleen, thymus, prostate, testis, ovary, small intestine, colon, peripheral blood leukocyte, heart, brain, placenta, lung, liver, skeletal muscle, kidney, pancreas and normal human fetal tissues (Human Multiple Tissue Northern Blot; CLONTECH) were all examined using the same hybridization procedure.

EXAMPLE 8 PCR Products Corresponding to Serine, Cysteine and Metallo-Proteases

Based on their unique expression in either low malignant potential tumors or carcinomas, PCR-amplified cDNA products were cloned and sequenced and the appropriate gene identified based upon nucleotide and amino acid sequences stored in the GCG and EST databases. FIGS. 3, 4 & 5 show the PCR product displays comparing normal and carcinomatous tissues using redundant primers for serine proteases (FIG. 3), for cysteine proteases (FIG. 4) and for metallo-proteases (FIG. 5). Note the differential expression in the carcinoma tissues versus the normal tissues. The proteases were identified using redundant cDNA primers (see Table 2) directed towards conserved sequences that are associated with intrinsic enzyme activity (for serine proteases, cysteine proteases and metallo-proteases) by comparing mRNA expression in normal, low malignant potential and overt ovarian carcinoma tissues according to Sakanari et al. (1989).

EXAMPLE 9 Serine Proteases

For the serine protease group, using the histidine domain primer sense, S1, in combination with antisense primer AS2, the following proteases were identified:

(a) Hepsin, a trypsin-like serine protease cloned from hepatoma cells shown to be a cell surface protease essential for the growth of hepatoma cells in culture and highly expressed in hepatoma tumor cells (FIG. 3, Lane 4);

(b) Complement factor B protease (human factor IX), a protease involved in the coagulation cascade and associated with the production and accumulation of fibrin split products associated with tumor cells (FIG. 3, Lane 4). Compliment factor B belongs in the family of coagulation factors X (Christmas factor). As part of the intrinsic pathway, compliment factor B catalyzes the proteolytic activation of coagulation factor X in the presence of Ca²⁺ phospholipid and factor VIIIa e5; and

(c) A stratum corneum chymotryptic enzyme (SCCE) serine protease involved in desquarnation of skin cells from the human stratum corneum (FIG. 3, Lane 4). SCCE is expressed in keratinocytes of the epidermis and functions to degrade the cohesive structures in the cornified layer to allow continuous skin surface shedding.

EXAMPLE 10 Cysteine Proteases

In the cysteine protease group, using redundant sense and anti-sense primers for cysteine proteases, one unique PCR product was identified by overexpression in ovarian carcinoma when compared to normal ovarian tissue (FIG. 4, Lanes 3-5). Cloning and sequencing this PCR product identified a sequence of Cathepsin L, which is a lysomal cysteine protease whose expression and secretion is induced by malignant transformation, growth factors and tumor promoters. Many human tumors (including ovarian) express high levels of Cathepsin L. Cathepsin L cysteine protease belongs in the stromolysin family and has potent elastase and collagenase activities. Published data indicates increased levels in the serum of patients with mucinous cystadenocarcinoma of the ovary. It has not heretofore been shown to be expressed in other ovarian tumors.

EXAMPLE 11 Metallo-Proteases

Using redundant sense and anti-sense primers for the metallo-protease group, one unique PCR product was detected in the tumor tissue which was absent in normal ovarian tissue (FIG. 5, Lanes 2-5). Subcloning and sequencing this product indicates it has complete homology in the appropriate region with the so-called PUMP-1 (MMP-7) gene. This zinc-binding metallo-protease is expressed as a proenzyme with a signal sequence and is active in gelatin and collagenase digestion. PUMP-1 has also been shown to be induced and overexpressed in 9 of 10 colorectal carcinomas compared to normal colon tissue, suggesting a role for this substrate in the progression of this disease.

EXAMPLE 12 mRNA Expression of SCCE in Ovarian Tumors

To evaluate mRNA expression of SCCE in ovarian tumors, semi-quantitative PCR was performed. A preliminary study confirmed the linearity of the PCR amplification according to the methods of Shigemasa et al. (1997) and Hall et al. (1983). FIG. 6 shows an example of comparative PCR using SCCE primers co-amplified with the internal control β-tubulin primers. Analysis of the data as measured using the phosphoimager and compared as ratios of expression (SCCE/β-tubulin) indicate that SCCE expression is elevated in tumor cases 19, 14, 15, 16, 43, 23, 36 and 37 compared to that of normal ovaries.

To confirm the results of the initial quantitative PCR and to examine the size of the transcript, Northern blot hybridization was performed in representative cases of each histological type of carcinoma (FIG. 7A). Northern blot hybridization with a ³²P-labeled SCCE probe (nucleotides 232-570) revealed 1.2 kb and 2.0 kb transcripts, as reported previously in normal skin tissue (Hansson et al., 1994). Those tumor cases which showed overexpression of SCCE by quantitative PCR also showed intense bands of SCCE transcript expression by Northern blot analysis including serous, mucinous, endometrioid and clear cell carcinoma. No transcripts were detected in normal ovarian tissue (Lane 1). Normal human tissues (spleen, thymus, prostate, testis, ovary, small intestine, colon, peripheral blood leukocyte, heart, brain, placenta, lung, liver, skeletal muscle, kidney and pancreas) and normal human fetal tissues (brain, lung, liver and kidney) examined by Northern blot analysis showed no visible SCCE transcripts (FIGS. 7B & 7C). Blots for normal human adult tissues and fetal tissues were subsequently probed to confirm the presence of β-tubulin transcripts.

Table 5 summarizes the results of the evaluation of SCCE expression in 10 individual normal ovarian tissues and 44 ovarian carcinomas. Overall, SCCE mRNA overexpression (overexpression=mean value for normal ovary+2SD) was found in 8 of 12 LMP tumors (66.7%) and 25 of 32 carcinoma cases (78.1%) with p values of <0.05 and <0.001 respectively (FIG. 8). Overexpression of SCCE transcripts was detected in all ovarian carcinoma subtypes and in both early stage and late stage tumor samples. In the five cases where positive confirmation of lymph node metastasis was identified, all five cases showed overexpression of SCCE at a level of more than four standard deviations above the level for normal ovary. It should be noted that three of these tumors were classified as low malignant potential tumors (all serous adenomas) suggesting a possible relationship between the progression of early stage disease to the lymph when overexpression of SCCE is manifest.

TABLE 5 Patient Characteristics and Expression of SCCE Gene mRNA expression^(c) Case Histological Type^(a) Stage/Grade LN^(b) SCCE 1 normal ovary n 2 normal ovary n 3 normal ovary n 4 normal ovary n 5 normal ovary n 6 normal ovary n 7 normal ovary n 8 normal ovary n 9 normal ovary n 10 normal ovary n 11 s adenoma (LMP) 1/1 n 4+ 12 s adenoma (LMP) 1/1 NE n 13 s adenoma (LMP) 1/1 NE 2+ 14 s adenoma (LMP) 1/1 n 4+ 15 s adenoma (LMP) 3/1 p 4+ 16 s adenoma (LMP) 3/1 p 4+ 17 s adenoma (LMP) 3/1 p 4+ 18 m adenoma (LMP) 1/1 NE 4+ 19 m adenoma (LMP) 1/1 n 4+ 20 m adenoma (LMP) 1/1 n n 21 m adenoma (LMP) 1/1 NE n 22 m adenoma (LMP) 1/1 NE n 23 s carcinoma 1/2 n 4+ 24 s carcinoma 1/3 n 4+ 25 s carcinoma 3/1 NE 4+ 26 s carcinoma 3/2 NE 4+ 27 s carcinoma 3/2 p 4+ 28 s carcinoma 3/2 NE 4+ 29 s carcinoma 3/3 NE 4+ 30 s carcinoma 3/3 NE 4+ 31 s carcinoma 3/3 NE 4+ 32 s carcinoma 3/3 NE 4+ 33 s carcinoma 3/3 n 4+ 34 s carcinoma 3/3 NE n 35 s carcinoma 3/3 NE 4+ 36 s carcinoma 3/3 NE 4+ 37 s carcinoma 3/3 NE 4+ 38 s carcinoma 3/3 n 4+ 39 s carcinoma 3/2 NE 4+ 40 s carcinoma 3/3 NE 4+ 41 s carcinoma 3/2 NE n 42 m carcinoma 1/2 n n 43 m carcinoma 2/2 NE 4+ 44 m carcinoma 2/2 n n 45 m carcinoma 3/1 NE n 46 m carcinoma 3/2 NE n 47 m carcinoma 3/2 NE n 48 m carcinoma 3/3 NE 4+ 49 e carcinoma 2/3 n 4+ 50 e carcinoma 3/2 NE 4+ 51 e carcinoma 3/3 NE 4+ 52 c carcinoma 1/3 n 4+ 53 c carcinoma 1/1 n 4+ 54 c carcinoma 3/2 p 4+ ^(a)s; serous, m; mucinous, e; endometrioid, c; clear cell; ^(b)LN; lymph node metastasis, p; positive, n; negative, NE; not examined; ^(c)n, normal range is equal to Mean ± 2SD, 2+; Mean + 2SD to + 4SD, 4+; Mean + 4SD or greater

The expression ratio (mean value±SD) for normal ovary was determined as 0.046±0.023, for LMP tumors as 0.405±0.468 and for carcinoma as 0.532±0.824 (Table 6). From a histological point of view, overexpression of SCCE was observed in 23 of 26 serous tumors (88.5%) including 6 of 7 LMP tumors and 17 of 19 carcinomas. However only 4 of 12 mucinous tumors (33.3%) including 2 of 5 LMP tumors and 2 of 7 carcinomas showed overexpression of SCCE. For endometrioid and clear cell carcinoma, stratum corneum chymotrytic enzyme was found to be overexpressed in all 6 cases (Table 6).

TABLE 6 Overexpression of SCCE in Ovarian Carcinoma N Overexpression of SCCE Expression Ratio^(a) Normal 10 0 (0%)   0.046 ± 0.023 LMP 12 8 (66.7%) 0.045 ± 0.468 serous 7 6 (85.7%) 0.615 ± 0.518 mucinous 5 2 (40.0%) 0.111 ± 0.117 Carcinomas 32 25 (78.1%)  0.532 ± 0.824 serous 19 17 (89.9%)  0.686 ± 1.027 mucinous 7 2 (28.6%) 0.132 ± 0.265 endometriod 3 3 (100%)  0.511 ± 0.205 clear cell 3 3 (100%)  0.515 ± 0.007 ^(a)The ratio of expression level of SCCE to β-tubulin

EXAMPLE 13 Western Blot Analysis

Polyclonal rabbit antibodies were generated by immunization with a combination of 2 poly-lysine linked multiple Ag peptides derived from SCCE protein sequences PLQILLLSLALE (SEQ ID NO. 28) and SFRHPGYSTQTH (SEQ ID NO. 29). Approximately 20 ng of MDA-MBA-435S and HeLa cell lysates were separated on a 15% SDS-PAGE gel and electroblotted to PVDF at 100 V for 40 minutes at 4° C. The proteins were fixed to the membrane by incubation in 50% MeOH for 10 minutes. The membrane was blocked overnight in TBS, pH 7.8 containing 0.2% non-fat milk. Primary antibody was added to the membrane at a dilution of 1:100 in 0.2% milk/TBS and incubated for 2 hours at room temperature. The blot was washed and incubated with a 1:3000 dilution of alkaline-phosphatase conjugated goat anti-rabbit IgG (BioRad) for one hour at room temperature. The blot was washed and incubated with a chemiluminescent substrate before a 10 second exposure to X-ray film for visualization.

Two cell lines HeLa and MDA-MB-435S previously shown to express mRNA transcripts were examined by Western blot to confirm the presence of SCCE protein. FIG. 9 indicates that polyclonal antibodies developed to peptides (12 mers bound to polylysine) derived from the amino and carboxy termini of SCCE bind a protein of approximately 30 kDa in cytosolic extracts of HeLa and MDA-MB-435S cells. The ovarian tumor cell line CAOV3 was also examined for SCCE expression and a protein product could not be detected (data not shown). This molecular size protein agrees with the anticipated and known parameters for the SCCE protein. It should be noted that only a single band was detected by Western blot analysis of cystosolic protein. It might be anticipated that the SCCE protein prior to secretion would be present in the inactivated parent form i.e. the seven amino terminal peptide removed on activation would still be present on the enzyme. In this pre-active form of the enzyme it would be anticipated that the apparent molecular weight on Western blot would be about 30 kDa.

EXAMPLE 14 Immunohistochemistry

Immunohistochemical localization of SCCE antigen was examined using normal ovaries, mucinous LMP tumor and adenocarcinomas (including serous adenocarcinomas, mucinous adenocarcinoma and clear cell carcinomas) in the same series of the samples for mRNA isolation. Formalin fixed and paraffin embedded sections, 4 μm thick, were cut and mounted on aminopropyltriethoxysilane treated slides. Slides were routinely deparaffinized with xylene and rehydrated with a series of ethanol washes. Nonenzymatic antigen retrieval was performed by processing using microwave heat treatment in 0.01 M sodium citrate buffer (pH 6.0). Immunohistochemical staining was performed manually using the avidin-biotin peroxidase complex technique (Vectastain Elite ABC kit, Vector Laboratories). Anti-SCCE rabbit polyclonal antibody was generated by immunization with a combination of 2 poly-lysine linked multiple Ag peptide derived from the SCCE protein-sequences.

This indirect immunoperoxidase staining procedure was performed at room temperature. Endogenous peroxidase and nonspecific background staining were blocked by incubating slides with methanol with 0.3% H₂0₂ for 30 minutes. After washing with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) for 10 minutes, sections were incubated with biotinylated anti-rabbit IgG for 30 minutes. After washing with PBS for 10 minutes, slides were incubated with ABC reagent for 30 minutes. The final products were visualized by using AEC substrate system (DAKO Corporation) and sections were counterstained with Mayer hematoxylin for 20 seconds before mounting. Positive controls and negative controls were used for each section. Negative controls were performed by using normal rabbit serum instead of the primary antibody. All experiments were duplicated. The stained slides were examined microscopically by 3 observers. More than 10% of positive tumor cells was the criterion for a 1+ positive staining and more than 50% of positive tumor cells was the criterion for a 2+ positive staining.

To further confirm the presence of the SCCE protein in ovarian tumor cells as opposed to its elaboration by supporting stromal or blood vessel cells, both normal ovarian epithelia and ovarian tumor tissue were examined by immunohistochemistry using the polyclonal antiserum described above. All 14 ovarian tumors showed positive staining of SCCE, whereas normal ovarian surface epithelium showed very weak expression of SCCE antigen (FIG. 10A). 8 of 10 serous adenocarcinomas, 1 of 1 mucinous adenocarcinoma, and 2 of 2 clear cell carcinomas showed 2+ positive staining (more than 50% of positive tumor cells) of SCCE (Table 7). FIGS. 10C and 10E show that stratum corneum chymotrytic enzyme staining is localized to the cytoplasm and the cell membrane of ovarian tumor cells. The negative control of each case was also performed, wherein the result showed no nonspecific staining of stratum corneum chymotrytic enzyme (FIGS. 10B, 10D and 10F). Staining of normal ovarian epithelial cells showed little SCCE expression (FIG. 10A).

TABLE 7 Immunohistochemical Expression of SCCE Protein in Normal Ovary and Ovarian Tumor Lab No. Histology SCCE normal ovary weak + normal ovary weak + normal ovary weak + normal ovary weak + normal ovary weak + normal ovary weak + 1036 mucinous LMP + 475 serous carcinoma + 465 serous carcinoma ++ 464 serous carcinoma ++ 1039 serous carcinoma ++ 960 serous carcinoma ++ 962 serous carcinoma ++ 1551 serous carcinoma ++ 1813 serous carcinoma ++ 1817 serous carcinoma + 1819 serous carcinoma ++ 1244 mucinous carcinoma ++ 947 clear cell carcinoma ++ 948 clear cell carcinoma ++

EXAMPLE 15 Summary of Proteases Detected Herein

Most of the above-listed proteases were identified from the sense-His/antisense-Ser primer pair, yielding a 500 bp PCR product (FIG. 1, Lane 4). Some of the enzymes are familiar, a short summary of each follows.

Hepsin

Hepsin is a trypsin-like serine protease cloned from hepatoma cells. Hepsin is an extracellular protease (the enzyme includes a secretion signal sequence) which is anchored in the plasma membrane by its amino terminal domain, thereby exposing its catalytic domain to the extracellular matrix. Hepsin has also been shown to be expressed in breast cancer cell lines and peripheral nerve cells. Hepsin has never before been associated with ovarian carcinoma. Specific primers for the hepsin gene were synthesized and the expression of hepsin examined using Northern blots of fetal tissue and ovarian tissue (both normal and ovarian carcinoma).

FIG. 11A shows that hepsin was expressed in ovarian carcinomas of different histologic types, but not in normal ovary. FIG. 11B shows that hepsin was expressed in fetal liver and fetal kidney as anticipated, but at very low levels or not at all in fetal brain and lung. FIG. 11C shows that hepsin overexpression is not observed in normal adult tissue. Slight expression above the background level is observed in the adult prostate. The mRNA identified in both Northern blots was the appropriate size for the hepsin transcript.

The expression of hepsin was examined in 10 normal ovaries and 44 ovarian tumors using specific primers to β-tubulin and hepsin in a quantitative PCR assay. Expression is presented as the ratio of ³²P-hepsin band to the internal control, the ³²P-β-tubulin band. Hepsin mRNA is highly overexpressed in most histopathologic types of ovarian carcinomas including some low malignant potential tumors (see FIGS. 12A & 12B). Most noticeably, hepsin is highly expressed in serous, endometrioid and clear cell tumors tested. It is highly expressed in some mucinous tumors, but it is not overexpressed in the majority of such tumors.

Stratum Corneum Chymotrypsin Enzyme (SCCE)

The PCR product identified was the catalytic domain of the sense-His/antisense-Ser of the SCCE enzyme. This extracellular protease was cloned, sequenced and shown to be expressed on the surface of keratinocytes in the epidermis. SCCE is a chymotrypsin-like serine protease whose function is suggested to be in the catalytic degradation of intercellular cohesive structures in the stratum corneum layer of the skin. This degradation allows continuous shedding (desquamation) of cells from the skin surface. The subcellular localization of SCCE is in the upper granular layer in the stratum corneum of normal non-palmoplantar skin and in the cohesive parts of hypertrophic plantar stratum corneum. SCCE is exclusively associated with the stratum corneum and has not been shown to be expressed in any carcinomatous tissues.

Northern blots were probed with the PCR product to determine expression of SCCE in fetal tissue and ovarian carcinoma (FIGS. 7A, 7B and 7C). Noticeably, detection of SCCE messenger RNA on the fetal Northern was almost non-existent (a problem with the probe or the blot was excluded by performing the proper controls). A faint band appeared in fetal kidney. On the other hand, SCCE mRNA is abundant in the ovarian carcinoma mRNA (FIG. 7A). Two transcripts of the correct size are observed for SCCE. The same panel of cDNA used for SCCE analysis was used for SCCE expression.

No SCCE expression was detected in the normal ovary lane of the Northern blot. A comparison of all candidate genes, including a loading marker (β-tubulin), was shown to confirm that this observation was not a result of a loading bias. Quantitative PCR using SCCE primers, along with β-tubulin internal control primers, confirmed the overexpression of SCCE mRNA in carcinoma of the ovary with no expression in normal ovarian tissue (FIG. 6). FIG. 8 shows the ratio of SCCE to the β-tubulin internal standard in 10 normal and 44 ovarian carcinoma tissues. Again, it is observed that SCCE is highly overexpressed in ovarian carcinoma cells. It is also noted that some mucinous tumors overexpress SCCE, but the majority do not.

Protease M

Protease M was identified from subclones of the His-ser primer pair. This protease was cloned by Anisowicz, et al., and shown to be overexpressed in carcinomas. A evaluation indicates that this enzyme is overexpressed in ovarian carcinoma (FIG. 13).

Cofactor I and Complement Factor B

Several serine proteases associated with the coagulation pathway were also subcloned. Examination of normal and ovarian carcinomas by quantitative PCR for expression of these enzymes, it was noticeable that this mRNA was not clearly overexpressed in ovarian carcinomas when compared to normal ovarian tissue. It should be noted that the same panel of tumors was used for the evaluation of each candidate protease.

EXAMPLE 16 Summary of Previously Unknown Proteases Detected Herein TADG-12

TADG-12 was identified from the primer pairs, sense-His/antisense-Asp (see FIG. 1, Lanes 1 & 2). Upon subcloning both PCR products in lane 2, the 200 bp product had a unique protease-like sequence not included in GenBank. This 200 bp product contains many of the conserved amino acids common for the His-Asp domain of the family of serine proteins. The second and larger PCR product (300 bp) was shown to have a high degree of homology with TADG-12 (His-Asp sequence), but also contained approximately 100 bp of unique sequence. Synthesis of specific primers and the sequencing of the subsequent PCR products from three different tumors demonstrated that the larger PCR product (present in about 50% of ovarian carcinomas) includes an insert of about 100 bp near the 5′ end (and near the histidine) of the sequence. This insert may be a retained genomic intron because of the appropriate position of splice sites and the fact that the insert does not contain an open reading frame (see FIG. 14). This suggests the possibility of a splice site mutation which gives rise to retention of the intron, or a translocation of a sequence into the TADG-12 gene in as many as half of all ovarian carcinomas.

TADG-13 and TADG-14

Specific primers were synthesized for TADG-13 and TADG-14 to evaluate expression of genes in normal and ovarian carcinoma tissue. Northern blot analysis of ovarian tissues indicates the transcript for the TADG-14 gene is approximately 1.4 kb and is expressed in ovarian carcinoma tissues (FIG. 15A) with no noticeable transcript presence in normal tissue. In quantitative PCR studies using specific primers, increased expression of TADG-14 in ovarian carcinoma tissues was noted compared to a normal ovary (FIG. 15B). The presence of a specific PCR product for TADG-14 in both an HeLa library and an ovarian carcinoma library was also confirmed. Several candidate sequences corresponding to TADG-14 have been screened and isolated from the HeLa library.

Clearly from sequence homology, these genes fit into the family of serine proteases. TADG-13 and TADG-14 are, however, heretofore undocumented genes which the specific primers of the invention allow to be evaluated in normal and tumor cells, and with which the presence or absence of expression of these genes is useful in the diagnosis or treatment selection for specific tumor types.

PUMP-1

In a similar strategy using redundant primers to metal binding domains and conserved histidine domains, a differentially expressed PCR product identical to matrix metallo-protease 7 (MMP-7) was identified, herein called PUMP-1. Using specific primers for PUMP-1, PCR produced a 250 bp product for Northern blot analysis.

MMP-7 or PUMP-1 is differentially expressed in fetal lung and kidney tissues. FIG. 16A compares PUMP-1 expression in normal ovary and carcinoma subtypes using Northern blot analysis. Notably, PUMP-1 is expressed in ovarian carcinoma tissues, and again, the presence of a transcript in normal tissue was not detected. FIG. 16B shows the expression of PUMP-1 in human fetal tissue, while no transcript could be detected in either fetal brain or fetal liver. FIG. 16C shows that PUMP-1 overexpression is not observed in normal adult tissue. Quantitative PCR comparing normal versus ovarian carcinoma expression of the PUMP-1 mRNA indicates that this gene is highly expressed in serous carcinomas, including most low malignant serous tumors, and is, again, expressed to a lesser extent in mucinous tumors (FIGS. 17A & 17B). PUMP-1, however, is so far the protease most frequently found overexpressed in mucinous tumors (See Table 8 below).

Cathepsin-L

Using redundant cysteine protease primers to conserved domains surrounding individual cysteine and histidine residues, the cathepsin-L protease was identified in several serous carcinomas. An initial examination of the expression of cathepsin L in normal and ovarian tumor tissue indicates that transcripts for the cathepsin-L protease are present in both normal and tumor tissues (FIG. 18). However, its presence or absence in combination with other proteases of the present invention permits identification of specific tumor types and treatment choices.

Conclusion

Redundant primers to conserved domains of serine, metallo-, and cysteine proteases have yielded a set of genes whose mRNAs are overexpressed in ovarian carcinoma.

The genes which are clearly overexpressed include the serine proteases hepsin, SCCE, protease M, TADG12, TADG14 and the metallo-protease PUMP-1 (see FIG. 19 and Table 8).

Northern blot analysis of normal and ovarian carcinoma tissues indicated overexpression of hepsin, SCCE, PUMP-1 and TADG-14. A β-tubulin probe to control for loading levels was included.

TABLE 8 Overexpression of Proteases in Ovarian Tumors Type N Hepsin SCCE Pump-1 Protease M Normal 10 0% (0/10)   0% (0/10)   0% (0/10)   0% (0/10) LMP 12 58.3% (7/12) 66.7% (8/12) 75.0% (9/12)   75% (9/12) serous 7 85.7% (6/7) 85.7% (6/7) 85.7% (6/7)  100% (7/7) mucinous 5 20.0% (1/5) 40.0% (2/5)   60% (3/5) 40.0% (2/5) Carcinoma 32 84.4% (27/32) 78.1% (25/32) 81.3% (26/32) 90.6% (29/32) serous 19 94.7% (18/19) 89.5% (17/19) 78.9% (15/19) 94.7% (18/19) mucinous 7 42.9% (3/7) 28.6% (2/7) 71.4% (5/7) 85.7% (6/7) endometr. 3 100% (3/3)  100% (3/3)  100% (3/3)  100% (3/3) clear cell 3 100% (3/3)  100% (3/3)  100% (3/3) 67.7% (2/3)

Discussion

For the most part, these proteins previously have not been associated with the extracellular matrix of ovarian carcinoma cells. No panel of proteases which might contribute to the growth, shedding, invasion and colony development of metastatic carcinoma has been previously described, including the three new candidate serine proteases which are herein disclosed. The establishment of an extracellular protease panel associated with either malignant growth or malignant potential offers the opportunity for the identification of diagnostic or prognostic markers and for therapeutic intervention through inhibition or down regulation of these proteases.

The availability of the instant gene-specific primers coding for the appropriate region of tumor specific proteases allows for the amplification of a specific cDNA probe using Northern and Southern analysis, and their use as markers to detect the presence of the cancer in tissue. The probes also allow more extensive evaluation of the expression of the gene in normal ovary versus low malignant potential tumor, as well as both high- and low-stage carcinomas.

The evaluation of a panel of fresh frozen tissue from all the carcinoma subtypes (Table 4) allowed the determination of whether a protease is expressed predominantly in early stage disease or within specific carcinoma subtypes. It was also determined whether each gene's expression is confined to a particular stage in tumor progression and/or is associated with metastatic lesions. Detection of specific combinations of proteases is an identifying characteristic of the specific tumor types and yields valuable information for diagnoses and treatment selection. Particular tumor types may be more accurately diagnosed by the characteristic expression pattern of each specific tumor.

Specifically, the present invention utilizes primers to the conserved catalytic triad domain of the serine protease family (viz. His-Asp-Ser). Using such a strategy to display serine protease transcripts found in abundance in carcinoma tissues, with little or no expression in normal ovary, SCCE gene was detected.

The overall expectation of the search was to identify cell surface or secreted products which may promote either tumor growth or metastasis. Confirmation of the presence of SCCE (a secreted serine protease) in ovarian tumors was indicated initially by subcloning and sequencing PCR products derived from amplification of tumor cDNA using redundant primes to the histidine (sense) and the serine (antisense) conserved domains of the serine protease catalytic sequences. Characterization of the SCCE protease (Egelrud, 1993) indicated that the cohesion between individual corneocytes in the stratum comeurn, the primary substrate for cellular desquamation or shedding of skin cells may be degraded by SCCE. Proteolysis of these intercellular matrices is one of the major events preceding desquamation. SCCE has only been identified in the stratum comeurn (Egelrud, 1993; Hansson et al., 1994) and immunohistochemical studies confirmed its unique tissue specific expression by the epithelial cells of the stratum comeurn (Sondell et al., 1994). It was therefore surprising to discover that this highly conserved expression of SCCE to skin is obviated when transformation and carcinogenesis of ovarian epithelial cells occurs. The clearly distinctive pattern of expression in both low malignant potential tumors and overt carcinomas of the ovary over normal ovarian tissue suggests that the SCCE protease may also play a role in shedding or desquamation of ovarian tumor cells. This association is especially well preserved in serous adenocarcinomas where disease progression is characterized by early foci of peritoneal metastasis and which may be the result of an early overexpression of enzymes such as SCCE and consequent tumor cell shedding. Because SCCE and other proteases (e.g. hepsin) are overexpressed in ovarian tumors (again with particularly high overexpression in serous tumors), it seems likely that a concert of lytic activity at the cell surface may be involved in malignant potential. Several aspects of the tumorigenic process can be dissected and identified as component parts of such a surface protease concert viz 1) initial expansion of newly transformed cells into the surrounding matrix of supporting tissue of the primary organ; 2) desquamation or shedding of tumor cells into the surrounding environment; 3) invasion of basement membrane of the target organ of metastasis; and 4) activation of mitogenic and angiogenic factors to support the newly established metastatic colony.

While it is not yet clear which proteases are the primary agents in each of these malignant progression steps, the data here indicate the potential for the involvement of SCCE in the shedding or desquamation phase of this progression. Certain other factors remain to be resolved even with regard to SCCE involvement in tumor cell shedding which include activation of SCCE by proteolysis or cleaving of the aminoterminal peptide of the pro-protease. Furthermore, an antileukoprotease which specifically inhibits SCCE activity has been recently identified (Wiedow, O. (1995) Isolierung und Charakterisierung von Serinprotease Inhibitoren der menschlichen Epidermis, Köster, Berlin). The presence of such an inhibitor might effectively inhibit shedding or desquamation of tumor cells as it has been shown to inhibit the detachment of corneocytes of keratinized skin tissue.

While there remains an intricate interaction between surface protease expression/activation and/or inhibition, it appears likely that a concert of enzymes which contribute to tumor growth and spread provide a mechanism for such a progression. SCCE expression on ovarian tumor cell surfaces can provide one mechanism by which tumor cells may be shed early in the tumor progression process of serous carcinomas.

The unique presence of this protease to keratinized stratum corneum and the present data showing lack of transcript presence in all normal adult and fetal tissues examined support the potential of this secreted extracellular enzyme as a useful marker for ovarian carcinoma. The fact that inhibition of such an activity prevents normal desquamation of skin cells also points to the potential of SCCE as a target for inhibition or down regulation in therapeutic intervention in the spread or metastasis of ovarian carcinoma.

EXAMPLE 17 SCCE Peptides as Target Epitopes for Human CD8⁺ Cytotoxic T Cells

Two computer programs were used to identify 9-mer peptides containing binding motifs for HLA class I molecules. The first, based on a scheme devised by Parker et al (1994), was developed by the Bioinformatics and Molecular Analysis Section (BIMAS) of the Center for Information Technology, NIH, and the second, known as SYFPEITHI, was formulated by Rammensee and colleagues at the University of Tubingen, Germany.

Peptides that possessed HLA A2.1 binding motifs were synthesized and tested directly for their ability to bind HLA A2.1. This technique employs T2 cells which are peptide transporter-deficient and thus express low endogenous HLA class I levels due to inability to load peptide and stabilize HLA class I folding for surface expression. It has been showed that addition of exogenous peptides capable of binding HLA A2.1 (A*0201) could increase the number of properly folded HLA A2.1 molecules on the cell surface, as revealed by flow cytometry (Nijman et al, 1993).

Monocyte-derived DC were generated from peripheral blood drawn from normal adult donors of the appropriate HLA type. Adherent monocytes were cultured in AIM-V (Gibco-BRL) supplemented with GM-CSF and IL-4 according to standard techniques (Santin et al, 2000). After 5-6 days, DC maturation was induced by addition of PGE₂, IL-1b and TNFa for a further 48 h.

Mature DC were loaded with peptide (2×10⁶ DC with 50 mg/ml peptide in 1 ml serum-free AIM-V medium for 2 h at 37° C.) and washed once prior to culture with 1×10⁶/ml peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) in AIM-V or AIM-V plus 5% human AB serum. The PBMC:DC ratio was between 20:1 and 30:1. After 7 days, responder T cells were restimulated with peptide-loaded, irradiated autologous DC or PBMC at responder:stimulator ratios between 10:1 and 20:1 or 1:1 and 1:10 respectively. At this point, cultures were supplemented with recombinant human IL-2 (10-100 U/ml), and fed with 50-75% changes of fresh medium plus IL-2 every 24 days. T cell lines were established and maintained by peptide restimulation every 14-21 days. Responder CD8⁺ T cells were purified by positive selection with anti-CD8-coupled magnetic beads (Dynal, Inc.) after the 2^(nd) or 3^(rd) antigen stimulation.

Peptide-specific cytotoxicity was tested in standard 5-6 h microwell 51Cr-release assays (Nazaruk et al, 1998). Autologous EBV-transformed lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCL) were loaded with peptide (50 mg/ml, 1 h at 37° C.) and subsequently ⁵¹Cr-labeled (50 mCi in 200-300 ml, 1 h at 37° C.). Peptide-loaded ⁵¹Cr-labeled LCL were incubated with CD8⁺ T cells at effector-target ration between 5:1 and 1.25:1. Cytotoxicity was recorded as percentage ⁵¹Cr released into culture supernatants.

SCCE Peptide 5-13

SCCE peptide 5-13 (SEQ ID NO. 33) is an HLA A2.1-binding peptide, as revealed by upregulation of A2.1 expression in T2 cells (data not shown). CD8⁺ CTL specific for SCCE 5-13 killed peptide-loaded autologous LCL, but did not kill control, peptide-free LCL. Heterologous HLA A2.1-expressing peptide-loaded LCL were efficiently killed, but targets lacking HLA A2.1 were not killed (FIG. 20).

SCCE Peptide 123-131

SCCE peptide 123-131 (SEQ ID NO. 32) is also an HLA A2.1-binding peptide, as revealed by upregulation of A2.1 expression in T2 cells (data not shown). CD8⁺ CTL specific for SCCE 123-131 killed peptide-loaded autologous LCL, but did not kill control, peptide-free LCL. Heterologous HLA A2.1-expressing peptide-loaded LCL were efficiently killed, but targets lacking HLA A2.1 were not killed (FIG. 21). Natural killer-sensitive K562 cells were not lysed. Cytotoxicity against SCCE 123-131 loaded LCL could be blocked with MAb specific for a non-polymorphic HLA class I determinant, confirming that lysis was HLA class I-restricted.

EXAMPLE 18 CD8⁺ CTL Specific for SCCE Peptide 123-131 Recognize Endogenously Expressed SCCE Tumor Antigen

To determine whether peptide-specific CD8⁺ CTL are capable of recognizing targets that process and present endogenously expressed SCCE tumor antigens, recombinant adenoviruses expressing hepsin and SCCE, both in conjunction with green fluorescent protein (GFP) as a means of directly monitoring expression levels by flow cytometric techniques were constructed. It was found that CD8⁺ CTL specific for SCCE 123-131 recognize and kill autologous targets infected with recombinant adenoviruses expressing the full-length SCCE antigen (Ad-GFP/SCCE) but did not recognize targets infected with Ad-GFP/hepsin (FIG. 22). These results show that the SCCE 123-131 peptide is a naturally processed and presented CTL epitope for SCCE-specific CD8⁺ CTL.

CD8⁺ CTL specific for SCCE 123-131 were tested for their ability to lyse HLA-A*0201-matched, SCCE-expressing CaOV-3 ovarian tumor cells. Peptide-specific CTL efficiently lysed peptide-pulsed LCL. The CTL also lysed CaOV-3 tumor cells (FIG. 23). Thus, SCCE 123-131 is a CTL epitope that is processed and presented by ovarian tumor cells. Tumor cell lysis was partially blocked by addition of monoclonal antibody specific for HLA Class I (W6/32) and HLA-A*0201 (BB7.2), indicating that tumor lysis was HLA Class I- and HLA-A*0201-restricted. Control, unpulsed LCL and NK-sensitive K562 cells were not lysed. These results indicate that ovarian tumor recognition and lysis was an antigen-specific event.

EXAMPLE 19 SCCE Peptide Expressing Both CD8⁺ CTL and CD4⁺ Helper T Cell Epitopes

The above results show that dendritic cells loaded with SCCE peptide 123-131 can stimulate peptide-specific HLA A2-restricted CD8⁺ cytotoxic T cells that kill SCCE-expressing, HLA A2-matched ovarian tumor cells. The SCCE 123-131 peptide is thus a legitimate target for immunotherapy of ovarian cancer. However, for optimal dendritic cell immunotherapy, it is also necessary to stimulate tumor antigen-specific helper CD4⁺ T cell responses.

The present example discloses a SCCE peptide that contains epitopes for inducing both CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cell responses. The algorithm for prediction of HLA DR-binding epitopes is built on motifs for DR1, DR4 and DR7. However, DR molecules frequently share common peptide-binding motifs, with the result that many peptides show degenerate binding to multiple DR molecules. Consequently, combined analysis of the DR1, DR4 and DR7 motifs has a high probability of identifying degenerate epitopes that bind other HLA DR molecules, or multiple DR-binding clusters (Southwood et al., 1998). Analysis of the complete SCCE sequence revealed a region (residues 110-139) that possesses a cluster of candidate HLA DR-binding epitopes as well as the known HLA 2.1-restricted CTL epitope SCCE 123-131 (see Table 9).

SCCE 110-139-Loaded Dendritic Cells Stimulate CD4⁺ T Cell Responses in Diverse HLA DR Backgrounds

SCCE 110-139 peptide-loaded dendritic cells were used to stimulate CD4⁺ T cells from two donors. The first donor expressed DR1 and DR7, whereas the second donor expressed unrelated DR3 and DR6 Class II haplotypes. Strong 110-139 peptide-specific CD4⁺ T cell proliferative responses were induced from donor 1 (data not shown). Peptide-specific CD4⁺ T cells from donor 1 were also cytotoxic against peptide-pulsed autologous LCL (FIG. 24). It was also found that SCCE 110-139-loaded dendritic cells efficiently stimulated proliferative (data not shown) and cytotoxic CD4⁺ T cell responses from the second donor (FIG. 25). From these results, it was concluded that vaccination with SCCE 110-139-loaded dendritic cells is likely to be immunogenic in the majority of individual, and would not be restricted to a limited set of HLA Class II haplotypes.

Dendritic Cells Loaded with SCCE 110-139 Efficiently Stimulate CD8⁺ CTL Responses

SCCE 110-139 peptide-loaded dendritic cells also processed and cross-presented epitopes on HLA Class I, efficiently priming a CD8⁺ CTL response. Peptide-specific CD8⁺ CTL lysed autologous LCL loaded with SCCE 110-139, showed reduced but significant lysis against A2.1-matched LCL, and failed to lyse HLA Class I-mismatched, peptide-loaded LCL (FIG. 26). These results provide an important confirmation that CTL epitopes are cross-presented by dendritic cells, and that CD8⁺ CTL response to peptide 110-139 is restricted by multiple Class I molecules, including A2.1. Intriguingly, the results also suggest that the target LCL are capable of cross-presenting soluble antigen.

Peptide 110-139-specific CD8⁺ CTL did not lyse SCCE 123-131-pulsed target cells, suggesting that although SCCE 123-131 is a naturally processed epitope, it is not a major component of the CD8⁺ CTL response to the extended 110-139 peptide. Rather, the results from FIG. 26 indicate that peptide 110-139-specific CD8⁺ CTL recognize other epitopes processed from the SCCE 110-139 sequence and presented by HLA 2.1 and other HLA Class I molecules. Nevertheless, CD8⁺ CTL specific for SCCE 123-131 can lyse peptide 110-139-loaded target cells (FIG. 27).

Although peptide 123-131 can be cross-presented by peptide 110-139-loaded dendritic cells and recognized by A2.1-restricted SCCE123-131-specific CD8⁺ T cells, the relatively low level of lysis indicates that it is not processed as a major epitope from the extended SCCE 110-139 sequence. This may explain why CD8⁺ CTL stimulated with peptide 110-139, although strongly cytotoxic against targets loaded with the homologous peptide, failed to recognize peptide 123-131-loaded target cells. This might appear to be a limitation to the use of 110-139 as a vaccine antigen, given that 123-131 is an A2.1-restricted epitope that is naturally processed and presented by ovarian tumor cells. However, the two peptides can be used independently, i.e. dendritic cells can be loaded with both 110-139 and 123-131 peptides, at least for treatment of A2.1-positive patients. In addition, these results demonstrate that DC loaded with SCCE 110-139 induce CTL specific for other naturally processed epitopes which are likely to be presented by tumor cells.

TABLE 9 Identification of HLA-DR Core Binding Motifs Proximal To The HLA A2.1-Binding SCCE Peptide 123-131 VNDLMLVKLNSQARLSSMVKKVRLPSRCEP SCCE 110-139 (SEQ ID NO:137)      LVKLNSQAR DR1 (8.33) (SEQ ID NO:138)                  VKKVRLPSR DR1 (2.12) (SEQ ID NO:139)    LMLVKLNSQ DR4 (8.0) (SEQ ID NO:140)      LVKLNSQAR DR4 (2.82) (SEQ ID NO:138)                  VKKVRLPSR R4 (3.95) (SEQ ID NO:139)      LVKLNSQAR DR7 (12.3) (SEQ ID NO:138) Algorithm values for predicted core sequences are given in parentheses. These values exceed the high stringency threshold of prediction for 75% of known binders to each DR molecule. Although DR-binding peptides are typically 12-15 residues in length, HLA DR-binding algorithms are based on a core motif of 9 residues containing required anchor residues at positions 1 and 6.

The following references were cited herein:

-   Egelrud, J Invest Dermatol 101:200-204 (1993). -   Hall et al., Mol. Cell. Biol., 3: 854-862 (1983). -   Hansson et al., J. Biol. Chem., 269:19420-19426 (1994). -   Nazaruk et al., Blood 91:3875-3883 (1998). -   Nijman et al., Eur. J. Immunol. 23:1215-1219 (1993). -   Noonan et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 87:7160-7164 (1990). -   Parker et al., J. Immunol. 152:163-175 (1994). -   Powell et al., Cancer Research, 53:417-422 (1993). -   Sakanari et al., Biochemistry 86:4863-4867 (1989). -   Santin et al., Obstetrics & Gynecology 96:422-430 (2000). -   Santin et al., Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 183:601-609 (2000). -   Shigemasa et al., J Soc Gynecol Invest 4:95-102, (1997). -   Sondell et al., J Histochem Cytochem 42:459-465 (1994). -   Southwood et al., J. Immunol. 160:3363-3373 (1998). -   Torres-Rosedo et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 90:7181-7185     (1993).

Any patents or publications mentioned in this specification are indicative of the levels of those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains. Further, these patents and publications are incorporated by reference herein to the same extent as if each individual publication was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. 

1. A method of producing immune-activated cells directed toward stratum corneum chymotrytic enzyme (SCCE), comprising the steps of: exposing immune cells to a SCCE protein fragment with the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 137, wherein the exposure to the SCCE protein fragment activates the immune cells, thereby producing immune-activated cells directed toward stratum corneum chymotrytic enzyme.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the immune cells are B cells, T cells or dendritric cells.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein said dendritic cells are isolated from an individual prior to exposure, wherein the activated dendritic cells are reintroduced into the individual subsequent to the exposure.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein said individual has ovarian cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, or colon cancer.
 5. A method of immunotherapy targeted toward SCCE in an individual, comprising the steps of: a) isolating dendritic cells from the individual; b) expressing a SCCE protein fragment with the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 137 in the dendritic cells; and c) transferring the dendritic cells back to the individual, wherein the dendritic cells would activate SCCE-specific immune responses in the individual, thereby generating immunotherapy targeted toward SCCE therein.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the individual ovarian cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, or colon cancer.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein said expression of SCCE in the dendritic cells is obtained by transfection, transduction or loading the dendritic cells with the SCCE protein fragment.
 8. A method of immunotherapy targeted toward SCCE in an individual, comprising the steps of: a) isolating dendritic cells from the individual; b) expressing a SCCE protein fragment with the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 137 in the dendritic cells; c) exposing immune cells comprising T cells isolated from the individual to the dendritic cells, wherein the dendritic cells would generate SCCE-specific T cells from the immune cells; and d) transferring the immune cells back to the individual, wherein the immune cells would activate SCCE-specific immune responses in the individual, thereby generating immunotherapy targeted toward SCCE therein.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein the individual has ovarian cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, or colon cancer.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the expression of SCCE in the dendritic cells is obtained by transfection, transduction or loading the dendritic cells with the SCCE protein fragment.
 11. An immunogenic composition, comprising an immunogenic stratum corneum chymotrytic enzyme protein fragment with the sequence shown in SEQ ID NO: 137 and an appropriate adjuvant. 